Strength training is an important part of an overall fitness program. Here's what strength training can do for you — and how to get started.
By Mayo Clinic Staff

Want to reduce body fat, increase lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently? Strength training to the rescue! Despite its reputation as a "guy" or "jock" thing, strength training is a key component of overall health and fitness for everyone.

Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age.

"If you don't do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you'll increase the percentage of fat in your body," says Edward R. Laskowski, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. "But strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass — at any age."

Weight machines. Most fitness centers offer various resistance machines. You can also invest in weight machines for use at home.

When you have your doctor's OK to begin a strength training program, choose a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 repetitions. When you can easily do more repetitions of a certain exercise, gradually increase the weight or resistance.

"On the 12th repetition, you should be just barely able to finish the motion," Dr. Laskowski says. "When you're using the proper weight or amount of resistance, you can build and tone muscle just as efficiently with a single set of 12 repetitions as you can with more sets of the same exercise."

To give your muscles time to recover, rest one full day between exercising each specific muscle group.

Also be careful to listen to your body. Although mild muscle soreness is normal, sharp pain and sore or swollen joints are signs that you've overdone it.

You don't need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. "Two to three strength training sessions a week lasting just 20 to 30 minutes are sufficient for most people," Dr. Laskowski says.

Better yet, results are quick. Expect to enjoy noticeable improvements in your strength and stamina in just a few weeks. If you keep it up, you'll continue to increase your strength — even if you're not in shape when you begin.

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